Discovering the Atom

by Stephanie Praamsma
1a. According to Democritus, what is the composition of matter?
According to Democritus all matter is composed of atoms: bits of matter too
small tobe seen.
1b. What is the root of our word "atom" and how is this root misleading?
The word atom comes from the Greek word
atomos
,
a
means not and
tomos
means cut, so the greek words definition is uncuttable. This is misleading
becauseatoms can actually be split.
2. The Greeks believed that fire was a state of matter. How did
atomistsdescribe fire?
Atomists before Leucippus and Democritus described fire as being one of the
four origins of matter, but Democritus and Leucippus described fire as being
just likeeverything else and being composed of atoms.
3. What are the five main ideas of Dalton's theory? What idea compromised
theacceptance of his work?
All matter consists of tiny particles called atoms, atoms are indestructible
andunchangeable, all atoms of an element are identical, atoms of different
elementshave different masses, and when elements react, their atoms
combine in simple,whole number ratios. These are the Daltons five main
postulates. The idea thatwhen elements react, their atoms sometimes
combine in more than one simple,whole-number ratio was the idea that
compromised the acceptance of his workbecause everyone was impressed by
the power and simplicity of this idea.
4. Which of the basic ideas of Dalton's Atomic Theory is an extension of
whatthe Greeks believed about atoms?

Daltons first idea, all matter consists of tiny particles called atoms, is an
extension of what the Greeks believed: that after a certain point matter
cannot be cut into smaller pieces that retain the properties of the whole.
5. How did William Crookes determine the nature of the beam in cathode
raytube?
He determined the nature of the beam by placing barriers in the cathode
rays path,and using magnets to change its path.
6. What did he conclude from his experiment?
He concluded that cathode rays acted like light, seemed to travel in straight
lines,cathode rays were NOT light (because light is not affected by magnets),
and havesome sort of charge.
7. How did Thomson use the cathode ray tube in his research?
Thomson used the cathode ray in his research by deflecting the ray with a
negativelyand positively charged plates. He did this by removing more of the
gas in his tubethan Hertz had, creating a better vacuum. He also positioned a
coil of wire,producing a magnetic field which also deflected the cathode rays,
so that thedeflection was opposite of the one produced by the electrical field.
Then he adjustedthem so that the forces were balanced.
8. What did Thomson conclude based on his research?